Ontology, Methodological Individualism, and the Foundations of the Social Sciences

• Autores: Robert Sugden
• Localización: Journal of economic literature, ISSN 0022-0515, Vol. 54, Nº 4, 2016, págs. 1377-1389
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This is a review essay based on a critical assessment of The Ant Trap: Rebuilding the Foundations of the Social Sciences by Brian Epstein. Epstein argues that models in the social sciences are inadequate because they are based on a false ontology of methodological individualism, and proposes a new model of social ontology. I examine this model and point to flaws in it. More generally, I argue against Epstein's methodological approach, which treats social ontology as prior to social scientific modeling and as certifying the "building blocks" that modelers then use. I argue that modelers can legitimately shape the building blocks for their own models.